Gail Simone answers questions about the New 52

[married guy]

I didn't think it was news to anybody that the writers had no idea what was going on within the New 52 framework.

The Bat books were a mess as everything was now supposed to have occurred within a 5 year timeframe, making 5 Robins an impossibility.
The Titans were a mess right out the gate. Nobody knew if Cyborg had been a member before joining the Justice League or not.
For reasons only Dan knows for sure, OG Wally was erased and replaced with a barely defined new Wally West for no particular reason.
Lobo, and let me say this again, LOBO was no longer the Main Man, but the Manicured Man.

It was glaringly obvious that management didn't give anybody the framework or parameters to work within. It was all attempted on the run which lead to more confusion.

[Frontier]

I didn't think it was news to anybody that the writers had no idea what was going on within the New 52 framework.

The Bat books were a mess as everything was now supposed to have occurred within a 5 year timeframe, making 5 Robins an impossibility.
The Titans were a mess right out the gate. Nobody knew if Cyborg had been a member before joining the Justice League or not.
For reasons only Dan knows for sure, OG Wally was erased and replaced with a barely defined new Wally West for no particular reason.
Lobo, and let me say this again, LOBO was no longer the Main Man, but the Manicured Man.

It was glaringly obvious that management didn't give anybody the framework or parameters to work within. It was all attempted on the run which lead to more confusion.

Oh yeah, I sometimes forget about that four Robins within five years thing, so every Robin was only Robin for, like, one year until Damian .

[Vordan]

Snyder had plans for the Court of Owls before the reboot, it was just planned with Dick still as Batman by then, and Green Lantern carried on without any change so that was always in the cards.

Geoff Johns was probably always going to do a new Aquaman book. I'm not sure if the run would've been exactly the same because the New 52 cleared the deck for a lot of what Johns did in his run.

Actually, I think Johns and Jim Lee taking over Justice League was also planned before they settled on a reboot.

Yeah he and Lee were going to do JL. There was a DCUO ad that previewed the planned lineup:



Ignore the OCs in the front and to the side of Flash, everyone else was who they were planning to star in JL.

[HsssH]

There is also Hawkman and lack of Aquaman.

[Vordan]

There is also Hawkman and lack of Aquaman.

Don’t think Aquaman was planned for the initial lineup, although I’m sure he would’ve joined eventually. Johns was busy revamping him and probably wanted to keep Arthur siloed off until he could build him up a bit first.

[Korath]

I didn't think it was news to anybody that the writers had no idea what was going on within the New 52 framework.

The Bat books were a mess as everything was now supposed to have occurred within a 5 year timeframe, making 5 Robins an impossibility.
The Titans were a mess right out the gate. Nobody knew if Cyborg had been a member before joining the Justice League or not.
For reasons only Dan knows for sure, OG Wally was erased and replaced with a barely defined new Wally West for no particular reason.
Lobo, and let me say this again, LOBO was no longer the Main Man, but the Manicured Man.

It was glaringly obvious that management didn't give anybody the framework or parameters to work within. It was all attempted on the run which lead to more confusion.

Of all the changes, it's the one I understand the least. Like... why ? Lobo was basically what you wanted other characters to be Dan ? Why change him ?

Not that NuLobo hasn't potential - there is plenty for that, including him just being plain old mental because of what happened to his people because of Lobo... but why make him the "real" Lobo, especially when he was a thinly veiled and badly written attempt to call up to Twilight fans ?

[MajorHoy]

And a period of DC comic books that ended five years ago is now on page five of discussions.

I'm sure that means something, but I have no idea what.

[Frontier]

Yeah he and Lee were going to do JL. There was a DCUO ad that previewed the planned lineup:



Ignore the OCs in the front and to the side of Flash, everyone else was who they were planning to star in JL.

Now I'm really curious who those OC's were intended to be.

And is that Brainiac at the top right?

[Korath]

Now I'm really curious who those OC's were intended to be.

And is that Brainiac at the top right?

The one at the front kind of remind me of Sideways.

[Anthony Shaw]

Yeah he and Lee were going to do JL. There was a DCUO ad that previewed the planned lineup:



Ignore the OCs in the front and to the side of Flash, everyone else was who they were planning to star in JL.

That is an interesting line-up. Plus, Cyborg looks way better than the New 52 design.

[Lee Stone]

The best thing that came out of New52 was 'same day digital'.
That was one thing that helped get a lot of new readers in the gate.
And, as such, a lot of those new readers also discovered the New52 first, so that became their first impression and would shape their expectations from DC.

As for the rest of New52...
I have nothing.

I think it was a failed opportunity not to start the 'same day digital' a few months earlier when DC did the line-wide logo covers.
That would've also gotten a big boost if it was given half the push of New52 and digital sales.
Remember, prior to New52 DC's new comics weren't released digitally for several months. With a few exceptions being their cartoon adaptations like Batman Beyond and Young Justice.

New52 benefited a lot from being 'at the right time and right place', as it launched simultaneously with 'same day digital'.
I think it would've done even better in the long run, however, if it wasn't a reboot.

I remember being initially excited about the renumbering/relaunching when it was first announced. At that time, it wasn't a reboot.
A lot of the new titles were ones everyone was expecting to come out of Brightest Day: Aquaman, Swamp Thing, Hawkman, Firestorm, the Deadman story...
And Generation Lost had already teased JLI, so we knew that was coming.

But the first indication that things weren't what they seemed was when they removed the lady from Flashpoint off the cover of JLI, eventually replacing her with Godiva.
That was about the time that continuity was removed and it became a reboot instead of a relaunch.

I wish I knew she was answering questions about New52.
I was curious to know if all the gore of the first few months was mandated by Didio or not.

[Lee Stone]

And a period of DC comic books that ended five years ago is now on page five of discussions.

I'm sure that means something, but I have no idea what.

Some of us only care to talk about New52 when other people bring it up.
It's like a sore that once picked, you just can't stop messing with until you just put a band-aid on it.
Otherwise, I tend to forget/ignore New52 existed. (It's easier now.)

[John Venus]

Nu52 is DC's equivalent of Heroes Reborn of the Crossing. We stop talking about it once something better comes along that makes us forget about it. Rebirth could have been it if it didn't come out stillborn.

[AJpyro]

I think its more or less agreed that highjacking a Flash story event to reboot everything was a dumb idea. Aside from the un communication going on, was there ever a plan for the five year gap between JL and the other books? Like when the solos hit issue 52, they would not be in line with JL and start telling stories post the Darkseid Fight?

[Frontier]

I think its more or less agreed that highjacking a Flash story event to reboot everything was a dumb idea. Aside from the un communication going on, was there ever a plan for the five year gap between JL and the other books? Like when the solos hit issue 52, they would not be in line with JL and start telling stories post the Darkseid Fight?

I think every book was supposed to be in the present-day. JL supposedly made the five year time-jump in its second arc but everyone was still acting the same as if it was only a few months after the first arc.